Cognitive Psychology

• What is Cognitive Psychology?

  • The scientific study (usually controlled experiments) of mental processes.
  • It is often referred to as the information-processing approach - based on an analogy between the mind and the digital computer.
• Evaluation


  Problem: Over simplification?

  • Assumes: brain processes information from the environment in a similar matter as a digital computer.
  • Hardware: physical system (nervous system)
  • Software: mental processes (memory, attention, reasoning, perception, etc)
  • Mind and behaviour is information processing
• Propositional Representations


  'token' mental representations with semantic properties (tokens with meaning)
• Indirect Realism (representationalism) 


  We access external reality through representations.
• Assumption

  • There is a clear assumption in Cognitive Science that information is 'represented' in your nervous system.
  • Representational account: internal representation of external objects.
• What is information?


  • The amount of entropy (disorder) in a system (Shannon & Weaver, 1949)
  • Information is the amount of surprise!
  • Very mathematical and involves predictive probability in a system
  • Cognitive processes = aim to process this surprise and filter out any noise
• Environmental information is processed by a variety of different processing systems (modularity) e.g., auditory and visual processes, memory and attention.
• Structuralist Approach


  • Introspection (Wundt, 1873)
  • Problematic: can't be verified, different reports, can alter thought processes, assumes mental events conscious.
• Behaviourism (hugely influential)


  • Study of observable, measurable events.
  • Watson (1913): need for a scientific approach to psychology.
  • Same foundations as other physical sciences.
  • All human behaviour can be explained in terms of the learned relationship between Stimulus (S) and Response (R).
  • Classical conditioning (passive S-R association) Pavlov, Watson.
  • Operant conditioning (behaviour modified through positive/negative reinforcement) e.g. Skinner.
  • Mental variables are unimportant- epiphenomenal, some basic drives: eating, breathing, reproduction.
• Cognitive Revolution Cir. 1950s (but plenty going on before this)


  • Behaviourism = too simplistic.
  • Tolman (1948) Cognitive maps.
  • Cherry (1952) Attention; cocktail party effect.
  • Chomsky (1957) Language acquisition not operant condition.
  • Miller (1957): Memory- Magic number 7=/-2

  The influence of Information Theory:

  • Influenced by mathematics, engineering, computers.
  • New concepts: attention, skill, capacity, etc.